Kozhikode
January 29, 2018
Kerala Governor and Calicut University Chancellor P.
Sathasivam on Monday conferred the D. Litt on Malayalam superstar Mohanlal and
veteran athlete P.T. Usha, "the Payyoli Express".
The honorary degree was
awarded to the two legends after four years since it was first announced.
The two, along with UAE Supreme Council member and Sharjah ruler Sheikh
Sultan Bin Muhammed Al Qasimi, were supposed to be honoured in September 2017,
when Qasimi had visited the state.
However, the function was shifted at
the last minute from here to Thiruvananthapuram.
On that day, only the
visiting Sharjah ruler was conferred the honour. It was then decided by the
University that it would confer the honours on the two Kerala legends in
Kozhikode.
Mohanlal, one of the two reigning superstars in the Malayalam
film industry in a career spanning close to four decades, continues his glorious
run at the top.
Usha, who is now 53-years-old, is an employee of the
Indian Railways. She also runs the P.T. Usha School of Athletics in her hometown
near here.
As a 16-year-old, she had become the youngest Indian sprinter
to compete in the 1980 Moscow Olympics.
She also went on to represent the
country at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles and the 1988 event held in Seoul,
besides winning numerous national and international awards in her career.